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Shadows of Ecstasy

Den of Desire

The Pleasure of Sin

I know that you are all waiting for more of Bonds of Blood and I am working hard to get it to you as soon as possible. But to tide you over, I'm going to introduce you to the new Sheriff in town.

Enjoy!

Shauna Hart

****

“Need some help?”

Alec’s head snapped around to focus on the voice that came from the shadows of the alley. “Get the hell out of here,” he commanded.

Slowly, the man walked into the light, his black hair catching the dim light of the street lamp overhead. “Can’t do that.”

Alec’s grip on the tracker’s neck tightened as he watched the other man come closer. Sizing the man up, he mentally prepared for a fight. The guy had a few inches on him, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t face before. His thick arms were crossed over a broad chest that would make an easy target. If Alec had to, he would take this guy out too if he didn’t walk away.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Alec snapped.

“I’m afraid that is where you’re wrong. I’m Vincenzo Delucia, the Vindicate you sent for,” the man explained. “But everyone calls me Vin.”

Alec straightened. He’d heard the name before. Vincenzo “Vin” Delucia had a reputation for being one of the most vicious Vindicates. But he wasn’t just chosen for his skill with a blade.

“I didn’t send for you.”

Alec was no fool. Tarquin sent Vin here to watch Alec. Watch and take care of him if the need ever arose. The fact that Alec’s own maker would send in a Vindicate to potentially kill him was a scar that would never heal right.

Still, he couldn’t exactly blame the man. Kat was Tarquin’s daughter and that was the most potent blood bond to ever be formed.

One side of Vin’s mouth lifted. “That’s right,” he said with a smile. “I was sent by Tarquin to deal with a situation you couldn’t resolve.”

Alec’s jaw clenched. “I’m trying to resolve it now.”

Vin tilted his head to the side. “Is that what you’re doing?” he asked. “How’s that coming?”

“Then, you know what I’m capable of? What I’ll do to you if you don’t tell me what I want to know?”

“I…” the boy managed.

Vin looked at Alec. “You think you could ease up so he can speak? That is what you want him to do, right?”

Dialing back his anger, Alec let him go, stepping to the side.

The tracker looked at Vin, his eyes wide with fear. “I’m telling you the truth, man. I don’t know.”

Alec’s eyes narrowed. “People around town say you’re one of the best trackers out there and you’re telling me you don’t know anything about the competition?”

The man cast a furtive glance at Vin before returning Alec’s gaze. “I’ve heard there are a couple others around, but no one knows much about them. I’m telling you these guys are like ghosts.”

Alec’s lips formed a grim line. “Just give us a name and we’ll leave you alone.”

“It’s not like we have support groups or some shit. I don’t know. They stay clear and so do I.”

Before Alec knew of his intent, Vin slammed a knife into the guy’s chest. The man looked up at Vin in horror, his face turning black like a seeping tide. When Vin let go, the guy crumple to the ground in front of him.

“We could have gotten more information from him,” Alec argued.

Vin glanced over his shoulder at Alec. “You’re kidding yourself. He wasn’t going to give us anything.”’

“You didn’t have to kill him.”

Vin shrugged. “I’m a Vindicate for a reason. Killing is what I do best.”

I wanted to give you a sneak peek of the next book in the Blood Bond series. There are some new and interesting characters that I will be introducing in the coming weeks. One of which is the elusive Tracker who made an appearance at the end of the first book.

The man who had rescued her that night. The man who obviously meant to keep her. His sheer size made the room seem small. At 6’7”, he towered over her. His appearance was volatile. Tattoos ran up his arms, his dark hair slightly long in the back.

His silver eyes sharpened as he took her in. “Damien is dead.”

Her gaze lowered as she thought of everything that had been lost, her tenuous hold on safety and Damien’s life.

“Don’t tell me you’re sad.”

The tracker’s deep voice made the room around her vibrate. Her gaze jerked up to meet his. “I’m sad that the situation turned so vile.”

“Damien was vile,” he bit out. “You should have never been with him in the first place.”

“He wasn’t always like that.”

One dark eyebrow rose as he let out a low chuckle. “So, he grew into a monster? That’s rich.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you mocking me?”

“You’re damned right I am. Monsters aren’t formed. They are born. And that bastard was a monster through and through. I ought to know. The world has believed I am a monster since birth.”

She took a step toward him. “But you’re not a monster. You can’t be. You saved my life.”

He let out a disgruntled snort. “Don’t let anyone else hear you say that. Especially if you want to stay in good company.”

I am in the process of working on the next book in the Blood Bond series! This next book will continue Alec and Kat's journey and introduce some very sexy, very intriguing new characters as well.

Here's a little teaser of the new book:

“You’re the strongest person I know, Kat.”

“Strong enough to fight off vampires?”

He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. “You already have fought them. You did it for me,” he reminded, his hands lazily running up and down her back. “You are strong enough to do this, even if I don’t want you to.”

She lifted her mouth to his needing to feel his strength. He took her mouth, his tongue fusing with hers. Her nails dug into his back, wanting him closer, wanting him inside her.

When she began to pull his shirt from his pants, he leaned back to look in her eyes.

“I need you,” she murmured.

Alec looked into her eyes, seeing the longing he felt reflected in the lavender depths. The three words were all he needed to allow her to ease his shirt over his head. He unbuttoned her shirt just as she reached for the button on his pants. Pulling her shirt apart, he bared her to his greedy gaze. Leaning down, his mouth caught one taut nipple through the lacy barrier of her bra.

She moaned low and her head fell back. Hooking his arms under her knees, he lifted her against him wrapping her legs around his waist. She licked at his lips before delivering tender bites as he made his way back to the house.

I'm continuing my series on Getting Married and Staying Married. Have you ever fallen in love only to find a few months later that the little things you used to think were endearing were annoying? That is what today's post "Nobody's Perfect" is all about.

Nobody’s Perfect

It is easy to put on the rose-colored glasses and forget all about the little quirks you mate has when you are falling in love. But eventually, we all have to take those glasses off. And when they come off, we are left with the true picture. Suddenly, the way he smacks his gum gets more and more annoying. But, keep in mind, that you are not alone here. Maybe he can’t stand the way you make slurping noises with your straw?

The bottom line is that we all have little quirks that can be annoying to others, especially someone that spends a lot of time with us. So, before you start criticizing him, you might want to consider the fact that you are not perfect either. No one is. Maybe you can overcome the gum smacking if he can overcome the slurping noises?

It is very easy to pick someone else apart and find their flaws, but remember that the same can be done to you. The lesson here is to not ruin your time together with silly arguments. You fell in love with this person for a reason.

So, the next time he smacks his gum, come up with a mental list of things you love about him instead of trying to point out flaws.

Have you ever wondered why your friends and family don't like the person you are dating? Well, you might be the problem! Check out my blog Watch What you Say!

Watch what you say…

When I was younger, I would tell my mom every time I fought with my boyfriend. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it. After all, my mom was my best friend. But pretty soon, I started to realize that my mom was developing an intense dislike of my boyfriend. This especially hurt when we were in the good times and I was head over heels in love with him.

As a young girl, I couldn’t understand why she didn’t see all of the wonderful things about him. As a woman, I understand it perfectly.

The problem was me.

The more I told her about our fights, the more she got angry about the way he hurt me.

She was my mother. All she wanted to do was protect me from getting hurt, and she saw him as the person that was hurting me.

Part of the problem was that there was no balance. When we were happy and in love, I didn’t have anything to say. I might mention something he bought me or say something in passing, but when the tears came I would pour out my heart and soul over every little thing that happened. So, in her eyes, the majority of what I told her about him was bad.

Try to remember that everything you say to family and friends about your relationship goes up on the scoreboard. That means that every time you call him a name or say how badly he treats you, your family and friends remember it. It may be possible that you didn’t really mean what you said and that you were just venting, but your family and friends don’t know that. You may want to forget all about the fight you had, but your family and friends will be your constant memory. And eventually, you will get upset with them for the way they feel about your partner. But the truth is that you have no one to blame but yourself.

That is why it is very important that you are careful about what you say to them.

Have you ever wondered why people cheat on their spouse? Take a look at what I think the number one reason is:

The Cheating Trap

This is a trap that good intentioned people fall into all the time. Often times, people get lost in this trap and throw away years of a good relationship over a passing attraction.

How does it happen?

We’re going to break it down here.

It starts out innocently. You become friends with a co-worker. You have lunch, share things about your life with them. You enjoy talking to them.

Now, let’s get into what is happening at home. Your family is coming to visit and the house is a mess. Your spouse has been busy at work and hasn’t had time to mow the yard. An unexpected bill came in the mail that is going to stretch your finances for the month.

Do you see the trap being laid yet?

In this scenario, it is easy to see. The reason that you enjoy spending time with your co-worker isn’t necessarily because they are such a great person or because they just seem to “get” you. It is because they aren’t connected to all the other worries in your life. When you spend time with them, you don’t have to think about all the other stressors that are going on. You can just take a minute to enjoy yourself. I mean, let’s face it, are you really going to dump all of your problems on them or go over your financial condition? No, of course not. This is why the other person is so much more appealing at the time.

On the other hand, your spouse is your partner in life. They share all of the commitments, responsibilities and worries with you. So, when you spend time with them, you are usually discussing those issues. Is it really fair to penalize them because they share every aspect of your life with you? After all, they are there to hold you when the tears come or help you when your family is driving you crazy. That is what marriage is all about. It isn’t just about the fun times. It is about all the times in between, too.

So, when you feel like you might be about to fall into this trap, ask yourself if you would be enjoying yourself just as much if you could go on a regular date with your spouse and not have to worry about all the stressors in your life?

Remember, just because your co-worker can make you laugh about movies, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can handle the pressure of being your partner in life.

Give credit where credit is due. If your spouse can stand by you, don’t they deserve the same in return?

Have you ever started a fight and knew it was pretty stupid? This section deals with learning to pick your battles.

Pick your battles.

When you are starting out in a relationship, it is very easy to get swept up in the bliss of the moment. Pretty soon, you start to expect every moment to be wonderful. But, unless you live in a fairy tale, eventually the bubble will burst and you will end up in an argument.

As you start your married life, these battles can go from bad to worse in a millisecond. That is why it is important to pick your battles wisely.

Is it really worth it to yell because he forgot to put the toilet seat down?

Believe me, there are more important things going on than the toilet seat here. Most likely, it is just another link in the chain about what you are really mad about. Maybe he has a pattern of not listening to you? Or maybe you feel like he is not being helpful? You may even feel like everything is left for you to do. Whatever it is, this isn’t just about the toilet seat. That’s why it is important to say what you mean and mean what you say.

As you are probably already aware, women are very confusing to men. They will start an argument about the toilet seat and end up talking about a house repair project from five years ago. The reason this happens so often is that often times it isn’t about the toilet seat at all. Instead, it is about some other deep-seated reason, and the toilet seat is just another manifestation of that problem.

So, ask yourself, is this really about the toilet seat?

If it isn’t, then you need to address the real problem and not clutter the issue with trivial things.

You’ve got the ring and you are committed to this relationship, but here’s a few things to think about before you start planning the big day. Don’t go into this marriage thinking you can change your partner. Sure, little things may change along the way. For instance, he might actually start to remember to put the toilet seat down, but the fundamentals don’t change.

A good example is the great baby debate. He has said many times that he doesn’t want kids. He’s been completely up front about it from the start. But you think you can change his mind.

Wrong!

If he has been open about the way he feels, don’t think that you can change his outlook on something as important as having a family.

Is it possible that down the road he might change his mind?

Of course, but more often than not one of you is going to be unhappy with the situation. Whether it is the wife that wants children but her husband won’t consider it or the husband who feels pressured into having a baby he doesn’t really want.

Be realistic!

If he has said that he doesn’t want children, ask yourself if you can truly live with that decision. If you can’t, it might be a good idea to set the wedding date far out to give you both time to assess what is important.

Believe me, it is much easier to postpone a wedding than it is to end a marriage. It is very important that you know what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable in your relationship. Negotiables are the items that you can compromise on and non-negotiables are the items that you simply won’t budge on. Obviously something like “always opens the door for me” is negotiable, but “must love animals” might be a non-negotiable if you have a couple of pets.

Yes, you are the bride and this day is about you, but you will still have to deal with all of your friends and family after the big day is over. It is very important that you remember that in the days leading up to the event. If family or friends are trying to impose their wants and needs on your wedding day, make sure to let them down gently. Just because you have to say no, it doesn’t mean you have to be rude about it. Remember, these are still your friends and family. You don’t want to alienate everyone because of your attitude…unless you want to star in the next episode of Bridezillas. But keep in mind that while we can turn the channel at the end of the episode, the Bridezillas still have to deal with their family and friends after the episode is over.

5) The Pampered Princess

One of the best ways to ease the stress you are facing is to take advantage of all of the perks of being a bride! Everywhere you go, you are treated like a princess.

Why?

Because you are the bride, that’s why!

Now is the time to live it up!

Get a spa treatment, relax with a glass of champagne…Enjoy these moments of living in the spotlight. It is the one moment in every girl’s life when she is treated like a star no matter who she is. Besides, with all the stress of planning the wedding, you definitely deserve to be pampered.